


Travel

by kafrickinboom



Series: Voltron WLW Month [23]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Genderbending, I Don't Even Know, Sad Hunk (Voltron), Slice of Life, Travel, VLD WLW Month, Voltron WLW Month, kind of?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-19 03:31:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11889054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kafrickinboom/pseuds/kafrickinboom
Summary: She just wants to show Shay the universe.





	Travel

**Author's Note:**

> This is 100% my weakest fic lmao. I'm so sorry. I'll probably end up rewriting/reworking it after this month's challenges are over... (And maybe after I make headway on my chaptered fics and the Yuri!!! On Ice Big Bang challenge smh.)

It's days like this that Hunk kind of hates her job. Being so far from her girlfriend for a majority of her time leaves them both feeling sad and lonely more often than not. 

She hates that she can't settle down for a while and let her and Shay's relationship bloom naturally, stuck with letting them grow in small bursts, but the nature of saving the universe from a power-hungry dictator demands her attention and time. She wants to be able to go see Shay whenever she wants, to just be able to hold her, hug her, kiss her when she feels like it, but as it is...she just can’t. 

She's tried multiple times to convince Shay to come with her, to go on this grand adventure with her, to travel through space with her. Shay doesn't even have to fight if she doesn't want to! (Honestly, Hunk would prefer her girlfriend stay safe within the castle walls anyway) (She also knows Shay well enough to know that she would never choose to just sit and do nothing.) She  _ could _ just chill in the castle-ship while Hunk goes out and kicks Galra ass alongside the other Paladins. It'd be amazing to be able to come home to the girl who stole her heart after every mission.

She also just wants to show Shay the universe. She wants to take her to places Shay had never even imagined before. She wants to show her girlfriend off to all of the allied aliens she's met along the way, and she definitely wants to see the look of wonder spread over Shay's face, softening in that way that never fails to make Hunk's heart melt. She wants to show Shay all the wonders of interplanetary food, and she wants to explore the stars together in this short life of theirs.

She gets to visit Shay when they have the time to do so, of course, though it's rare. It's never as much or as long as either of them want, but every time Hunk has asked if Shay wanted to come along, Shay had hesitantly, gently declined, claiming that the Balmera needs her still.

Hunk isn't quite sure what else the Balmera could possibly need from Shay specifically. They'd already saved it, and there were countless Balmerans to attend to the great beast they lived on. Hunk was about 90% sure Shay was just terrified of leaving the home she's known all her life, and as much as it hurts every time she says 'no,' Hunk  _ gets it. _

If Hunk had been given the choice whether to leave or stay on Earth all those months (years?) ago, she's pretty positive she would have chosen the latter. Earth was more comfortable, safer in her mind. She's self-aware enough to know that her anxiety also influences a great deal of her decision-making. She would undoubtedly have been way too scared to even consider the option of taking off into space, into the unknown. Fortunately, she hadn't been given the choice. (She knows how funny that sounds, but as much as she misses her family like a missing limb, she wouldn't trade her experiences out here for anything.)

So, like she said, she gets why Shay is apprehensive to leave. She desperately wants to convince Shay that traveling with her would be amazing, but she just can't. Shay has to make the decision on her own without Hunk interfering in any way. Hunk's pretty sure she wouldn't be able to live with the guilt if the  _ only _ reason Shay came with her was because of her and not because  _ she _ wants to.

Hunk just...wants Shay to want to come with her. She hopes that someday Shay changes her mind.

\---

Every time they get to lay like this, curled around one another under the Balmeran sun, her head rest on Shay's unforgiving (beautiful) shoulder, Shay's fingers carding through Hunk's shoulder-length hair, is a gift. It always feels like a stolen moment, like something not quite real, like a dream. It probably has something to do with the rarity of the soft moments they get to share together. Hunk treasures each and every minute they have.

But, she knows she has to return to the castle-ship eventually. She has to go back to her lonely room without Shay's warm, sunny disposition. She has to fall asleep with the hollow echo of feeling Shay's hands on her. She has to dream alone without her radiant giant woman wrapped around her back. She has to go back to the aching melancholy that threatens to choke her up each time she has to separate from the woman she's fallen in love with. She has to hide the tears burning behind her eyes as she waves goodbye until she's out of Shay's sight. 

Thank the gods she has Lance there to always comfort her in her times of need. He's always there to hug her tightly like she's done for him each time the yearning to see his family washes over him, an overwhelming sadness that pulls big, fat tears from his eyes. They've been friends for years now, and Hunk thanks every one of her lucky stars that she has Lance in her life. He's become something like a brother to her, and without his reassurances that everything would eventually work out, she's pretty sure she would feel untethered and depressed. She's pretty sure without her understanding and empathy, he'd feel the same.

"I am pretty sure I can hear you thinking," Shay amusedly says, cutting through Hunk's train of thought. "Care to share?"

"I was just thinking about how Lance has become family to me," Hunk says, shooting her girlfriend an apologetic glance. "Sorry."

"It is quite alright. I am glad you have family with you always." Shay smiles fondly, and Hunk smiles in kind. "I am unsure of what I would do without my family with me."

Hunk's heart clenches as she says, "I love Lance like a brother, sure, but I definitely miss my Tina and Tama."

Shay cocks her head as she asks, "Tina and Tama?"

"Oh yeah. Sorry. That's Samoan for mom and dad," Hunk's smile grows sad as she continues. "I'm an only child, so I don't have any  _ real _ brothers and sisters, but...with me being so far away from Earth, I can't help but wonder how my parents are doing. They have to be going crazy with worry over my disappearance. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye."

Hunk didn't mean for the conversation to make an abrupt turn for the sad, but here she is, making herself sadder than she was before. 

"I am sorry," Shay frowns, and Hunk turns her head to kiss Shay's shoulder.

"It's alright. I'll be able to return someday and things should be okay. It's just hard knowing that they don't actually know I'm fine. They don't know anything about where I am or what I'm doing. They have no clue I'm in the fight to save the entire universe." Hunk shrugs. "It would just be easier if they  _ knew." _

"I think I can understand that. I cannot imagine if I disappeared without my family knowing where I went.” Shay smiles sadly. 

“Thankfully that’ll never happen,” Hunk says, sitting up. She checks her watch, scowling at the time. “I have to go soon,” she adds wistfully, turning her gaze away from Shay. She doesn’t want to tear up in front of her and make Shay feel guilt just because Hunk can’t handle the distance. “I don’t really know when we’ll be back again. Allura’s been pretty intent on picking up as many alliances in as short a time as possible.”

“Oh,” Shay sighs, her small voice barely making it to Hunk’s ears. When Hunk finally works up the nerve to look up, Shay’s face is downturned, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. 

Hunk takes one of Shay’s large hands in both of hers, bringing it up to her lips to press a little kiss to the palm. She ignores the melancholy tugging at her heartstrings as she reassures, “hey! It’ll be okay! We’ve been apart for a while before. We can do it again.” She keeps her smile even by sheer will when Shay’s bright, yellow eyes go glassy.

“I don’t think we can,” Shay’s voice goes wobbly. “I have missed you  _ so _ much while you were gone, and I do not know if we  _ can _ go through another long period of time apart without...falling apart.”

Hunk feels like her heart lodges in her throat as her face drops, her happy veneer cracking down the middle. “I- What are you saying?”

“I do not know. I have been thinking about maybe coming with you...if the offer is still available.” Shay’s expression turns hopeful, and Hunk feels like she’s experiencing whiplash, her freefalling mood taking a turn for the best. She feels like she can  _ soar, _ her smile radiant as she nods vigorously.

“Yes! Of course it is! It was never  _ not _ available.” Hunk sits up on her knees. “A-are you sure about this though? You’ve been pretty adamant about staying here with the Balmera.”

“I have been foolish. I was too scared to take your hand, afraid to take a chance on  _ us. _ How much I miss you during our time apart, and the strength I feel between us when we are together, speaks of how right we are for one another, and...I want to be with you always,” Shay says, her tone bashful. Her skin doesn’t show her blush, but when Hunk rests her hands on Shay’s cheeks, she can feel the heat in then. Hunk can see the shy happiness in the curve of her mouth, the tilt of her head as she studies Hunk for a reaction.

Hunk’s pretty sure she’s never been this happy in her life. They have so much to do in so little time- speaking with the Balmeran elders and informing the team of this new development and decision, but all Hunk can do right now is hold on to her girlfriend, peppering sweet, ecstatic kisses everywhere she can reach.

She can’t wait to travel the stars with Shay.

**Author's Note:**

> Even if this isn't my personal favorite of mine, I hope you liked it! Thank you for reading <3
> 
> Next up: f!Polydins, "Festival"


End file.
